Sweet quick bread is topped with rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl & drizzled with sweet powdered sugar icing; classic cinnamon roll flavors without the work. 
It’s no secret that I love an easy take on a classic cinnamon roll. My cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting are one of my favorite treats. They’re dense and chewy and smothered in a decadent amount of fluffy frosting. Sometimes, though, I want something a little lighter, both in calories and in texture. When I do, I make this cinnamon roll bread. It’s a light bread with a touch of cinnamon and a rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl. Instead of traditional cream cheese frosting, it’s topped with a powdered sugar glaze. While I wouldn’t try to classify this bread as healthy, it is much lighter than most alternatives. The bread itself contains no butter or oil; it uses plain Greek yogurt and just a half cup of sugar. The ribbon of rich cinnamon and brown sugar adds just the right level of sweetness without overpowering the subtle flavor of the bread. And then- because, let’s be real, we can’t call it cinnamon roll anything without frosting- the whole thing is drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze. 
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10 Simple & Tasty Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes + a Blog Hop
Welcome to our April Blog Hop!
This month we are focusing on all things Mother’s Day…it’s only a couple of weeks away! Get ready for some great ideas, inspiration and how -tos as you move along through the blog hop.
You may just be starting, or may have come from Anna International on our Living with Style Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.
3 easy, tasty breakfasts under 300 calories
It’s three months into the new year. Maybe your weight loss resolutions aren’t going as well as planned. Or maybe they are, but you’re growing tired of the same boring, low-calorie options. Here are three winstead wandering-approved recipes to break you out of your breakfast rut without busting your resolutions.
egg sandwich from a cup of jo
This recipe is touted as “the best egg sandwich you’ll ever have. While I have to disagree (the breakfast sandwiches J. and I make, my mom’s recipe, are hands-down the best ever) this is likely the best for under 300 calories. The recipe is actually written by Deb of Smitten Kitchen, so you know right off that it’s a winner.
The recipe basically has you beat an egg and and pour it into a pan. You cook the egg a little, like a crepe, pile cheese in the middle, and wrap the egg up around the cheese. When you put the egg-wrapped cheese on a toasted English muffin, you have a delicious treasure chest of hot egg and gooey cheese, all wrapped up in a 270 calorie* package.
*calories are based on using a whole wheat English muffin and a slice of American cheese
10 best crescent roll dinner recipes + 3 desserts
I try my best to create meals for my family that include more whole ingredients and fewer canned and processed foods. A lot of nights, I’m successful.
There are plenty of nights, though, that I’m mostly concerned with just getting something on the table. For the nights when I don’t have anything to pull from the freezer, I try to keep a tube of crescent roll dough in the fridge.
While crescent rolls may not be the most nutritious choice, they’re a super convenient way to pull a meal together quickly. Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite crescent roll recipes.
1. sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake from Winstead Wandering
2. Ranch Chicken Club Roll-Ups from Life With the Crust Cut Off
3. Pepperoni Pizza Crescents by Mess for Less
what i’m loving wednesday
I’m pretty excited about what I’m sharing in this week’s post. Most of the items I’m mentioning are things I’ve been using/watching/doing for a while now.
mason jar salads
There was a pin a couple years ago that seemed to be everywhere. The post detailed how to prepare several salads, including dressing, in mason jars and eat them throughout the week. The post promised that the salads would stay fresh for several days. The catch: you had to vacuum seal the jars, just like when you can fruits and vegetables.
That was ridiculous to me. I never gave the idea a second thought. Until a few months ago, when I read this. The post goes into much better detail than I ever could, but the gist is that, if you pack your salad ingredients in the right order, everything will stay fresh and there’s no need to vacuum seal anything.
the blacklist
Surely J. and I aren’t the only ones hooked on this show. I won’t even try to get into the plot, but it stars James Spacer and it is so good. If you’re into shows like White Collar and Burn Notice, you should definitely check out The Blacklist. Be warned, though, it’s quite a bit darker than either of those shows.
pretzel chips
One of my biggest craving weaknesses is for something salty and crunchy. I try not to buy tortilla chips too often, because tortilla chips lead to nachos and nachos lead to pants that don’t fit. I don’t really buy crackers, either, like cheez-its or wheat thins. So what do I reach for when I can’t fight that craving anymore?
Pretzel chips (this is a link to the brand we buy, but they’re currently $8+ a bag, which is way more than we usually pay). The whole family loves them. They’re crispy and salty and perfect for dipping in hummus or as a vehicle for tuna. My kids eat them plain or with slices of cheese. They offer a better calorie count than tortilla or potato chips, too: 110 calories for 13 crisps.
green smoothies
Green smoothies are another one of those things that have been talked and blogged and written about a million times. I first started drinking them a few years ago, when I as pregnant with B. There are so many recipes floating around Pinterest that I won’t add mine to the mix (plus, I don’t really follow a recipe) but I will throw in my two cents. J., my non-vegetable eating husband with the palate of an eight-year old, loves these. Even though the primary ingredient is spinach, I can’t reiterate enough that they don’t taste like spinach. G. and B., who are as vegetable-averse as their dad, love a good “monster drink”, too.
Note: if you don’t have a blender capable of blending ice or a frozen banana, I highly recommend getting a Magic Bullet. I’ve had and used mine steadily for four years, including to make all B. and G.’s baby food, and I’m just now considering buying a new one.)
soma panties
We’re getting intimate on the blog today. Over the course of my adult life, I’ve owned underwear that fall all over the price spectrum, from cheap Walmart multi-pack to Victoria’s Secret. And I have to say, I’ve been happier with the panties that fit somewhere in the middle- think Target individually-sold pairs- than with the more expensive brands.
Until I met Soma. My mother-in-law picked up a few pairs of Soma panties for me at the outlet a few weeks ago. These underwear are incomparable. They’re comfortable and soft, yes, which I would expect from a pair of pricey underwear (though if you hit a sale, they’re cheaper than VS). But they’re so much more than that. The leg holes are lined with a thin layer of silicone- it sounds crazy, I know, but it’s hard to explain- that keeps them from riding up or giving you an underwear line; Soma calls it “vanishing edge”. They stay perfectly in place all day, regardless of what you’re wearing them under. If you splurged on a pair- or six- of Soma panties, I don’t think you’d be disappointed.
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. When you click those links and make purchases, you support me, this blog, and my family.)
What are you loving this week?
sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake
We’re no strangers to brinner- breakfast + dinner- around my house. In fact, we probably have it at least twice a week. I love it because most breakfast options are fast and frugal, which are two huge factors I use in determining what we’ll be eating each week.
The other thing I love about the meals in my brinner rotation is that they can all be easily customized. One meat can be subbed for another, vegetables can be switched out based on what you have around, and using a specific kind of cheese isn’t that important.
All of the above apply to this sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake. You could easily use bacon or ham instead of sausage and add any kind of veggies you like (to the whole dish or just to a portion). I use a cheddar cheese blend, because that’s what I usually have on hand, but most anything would work.
That’s a chubby toddler hand sneaking in to steal a grape 🙂
sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake
adapted from Six Sisters’ Stuff
1 small can of crescent rolls (you only need four rolls; you can always buy the regular size and find another use for the leftover four)
1/2 pound ground sausage, cooked and drained
3/4 cup shredded cheese
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced onion
cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting
Who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls? I know I do, and I even make them on occasion. I’m not afraid to work with yeast and there’s just something about a warm homemade cinnamon roll that defies description.
But this is real life. Sometimes it’s 10 p.m. and you remember, as you’re about to climb into bed, that you promised a group of students you’d feed them at your 7:30 a.m. meeting. And since cinnamon rolls are certainly not happening, you rack your brain for a simpler solution. Something mouth-watering, yes, but something that comes together quickly.
That’s where these cinnamon roll bars come in. The base is a box cake mix, so it doesn’t take too many more ingredients for them to come together. I love to bake the bars the night before, then whip up the frosting in the morning and frost them right before I walk out the door.
These bars are so easy, yet so moist and rich, that they could easily become a new make-ahead holiday favorite. Or, if you really love the people in your life, make them this weekend.
Cinnamon Roll Bars
adapted from Cookies & Cups
For the bars:
1 box white or yellow cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (I’ve used light or dark; both work fine)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cinnamon
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (optional)
For the frosting:
1 8 oz. brick of cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract